Levin PhD students Abigail Poeske and Bryson Davis and CSU student Cameron LaMack (Mechanical Engineering) have been named University Innovation Fellows by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). The University Innovation Fellows program empowers students to become agents of change at their schools. Fellows work to ensure that all students gain the attitudes, skills, and knowledge required to navigate a complex world and build the future. 

Fellows are nominated by faculty and administrators and are selected through an application process each year. Faculty and administrators who guide Fellows, known as Faculty Champions, also have the ability to engage in a community of Faculty Innovation Fellows. This cohort-based program is a two-year experience that helps educators work to identify and design their own projects to make a difference at their schools. Faculty Champions for CSU’s Fellows include Dr. Nicholas C. Zingale, Associate Professor at Levin and Codirector of CSU’s TECH Hub, and Dr. Kelle K. DeBoth, Assistant Professor in CSU’s Department of Health Sciences. They said they encouraged Poeske, Davis, and LaMack to apply as part of an effort to create new experiences for students at CSU.

“The Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs and Cleveland State University serve as a student-focused center of scholarly excellence, providing accessible and exceptional education by fostering innovative fellowship opportunities for students,” noted Dr. Zingale. “These students have inspired faculty across campus to participate in developing an interdisciplinary program to address the impacts of advanced technology in society. We are very proud to have had the opportunity to work with them and the UIF program.”

As part of this initiative, the student fellows will create opportunities to help their peers build the creative confidence, agency, and entrepreneurial mindset needed to address global challenges. They serve as advocates for lasting institutional change with academic leaders, lending the much-needed student voice to conversations about the future of higher education.

Learn more about Poeske, Davis, LaMack, and the UIF Program by viewing their change story project video here.